Chapter 168: She Became Famous

Chapter 168: Chapter 168: She Became Famous

Renee Morgan gave the address, hung up the phone, and handed the phone back to Ethan Sterling.

But Ethan didn’t take it, his voice calm: "Save your number first, and when you get home safely, call me again."

Renee could understand their modus operandi: always see things through. If he escorted her home, he’d make sure to get her there safely.

After entering her number, she thought of something and said, "You can add me on WeChat, my phone number is the same as my WeChat. Once I get back, I’ll accept your request and let you know I’m safe."

Ethan nodded, saw she’d saved the number, then took the phone and pocketed it.

By the time Warren drove into District J, it was already past eight in the evening, Linley Lincoln had finished work, Ethan turned off the office lights, and walked out of the building with Renee.

Warren’s car was parked in the temporary parking lot. She spotted the familiar silhouette from afar, unable to hide her excitement. Suddenly remembering something, she hurriedly pulled out a face mask and sunglasses from her bag, and even donned a sun-protection jacket with a hood.

Face mask and sunglasses—Renee was already surprised, but a sun-protection hoodie at night?

Did Warren forget what level of celebrity she was?

"Warren, it’s only mosquitoes who’ll come near me if I go out—I really don’t need all that." Renee quickly stuffed Warren’s things back into her bag while Ethan was still a few steps behind.

Ethan was still holding her luggage, and Renee hurried to take it from him, flashing a sincere smile as she thanked him, "Thank you so much. My agent’s here now, sorry for all the trouble tonight."

Renee had already told Warren on the phone that a District J officer was escorting her back.

Warren hadn’t expected him to be so young. Even in the dim night, that face was enough to make her squint.

"Hello, Officer, I’m Morgan’s agent." Warren stepped forward and shook his hand.

Ethan glanced at Renee, reached out for a light handshake, and said, "Soldier. Ethan Sterling."

At first, Warren felt a bit in awe of his presence, but as soon as he introduced himself in those two simple words, all that awe solidified into serious respect. Only one thought crossed her mind: what a powerful conviction, and what powerful inner strength.

With his title, he could have thrown around any position and it would have left civilians like them scrambling in fear and respect.

But he didn’t. He just summed himself up in two words, so calm, as if he were saying he’d had a glass of water.

Back in the car, Warren handed her the phone: "Got your phone back. Call your parents, let them know you’re safe."

Renee nodded and turned on the phone.

App notifications flooded in, impossible to process. She skimmed them quickly, just about to clear all when she noticed her name in a headline alert.

Renee thought she was seeing things. Tapping the notification bar, she saw that out of ten trending news stories, seven were about her—only three about general affairs.

This...

Renee was sure she’d never been that popular.

In her dream, after this program ended, Renee trended seven or eight times, but from the dream’s perspective she knew all those hot searches were paid for by Wendy Aldridge.

But this time, Wendy was in real trouble. She couldn’t step on Renee like in the dream, and there was no reason to buy negative hot search, since bad press was still press, and Renee would end up benefiting anyway.

This time...

Even after trying so hard, was she still doomed to scandals and infamy?

Renee held her breath, swiped her finger to clear notifications, logged in to WeChat, only to find her previously quiet inbox had turned to 99+ new chats.

Renee knew it was all due to her being in the hot search mess. She just tapped through a few important contacts, spent a few minutes reading all the messages.

"..."

She took another deep breath and clicked into the various app headlines. There were countless topics about her; she clicked on one at random.

Ten minutes later, after scrolling through all the trending stories, Renee finally confirmed one thing: she was hot.

In her dream, she’d clawed and scrambled for years to reach a level of fame, but now, thanks to one variety show, half her goal was suddenly accomplished.

The other half was to win Best Actress.

Warren saw the spark in her eyes that she just couldn’t hide. Holding the steering wheel, she smiled and asked, "What’s up with you?"

Renee’s bright eyes were sparkling as she looked at Warren: "Warren, I just want to go home and sleep well." Just to make sure it wasn’t a dream.

Warren agreed, and before Renee got out of the car, she made her put on sunglasses and a mask, cautioning, "Don’t go out after you wake up tomorrow. Wait for me to come get you."

This time, Renee didn’t refuse. Warren even pulled the sun-protection coat onto her, and Renee cooperated all the way as she pulled the hat over her head.

Warren had no idea Renee had just found out she’d suddenly gone viral.

Seeing her so cooperative, Warren felt a little tender and reassured her, "You’re not who you used to be. The company’s been in meetings every day. Now that you’re famous, you need quality resources. In this industry, good work is how an artist really makes their mark."

Renee might only be in her early twenties, but because of those dreams, her view of the entertainment industry was much clearer than before.

She didn’t need Warren to say it—she knew exactly where she stood.

A new face who went viral because of a variety show needs solid work to show for it once the hype dies down, otherwise the buzz fades away like so much foam, disappearing from the public eye.

Renee had rented a commercial high-rise apartment. Warren had the key, and two days earlier had brought cleaners in. The place was spotless, with a bouquet of lilies in a glass vase on the table, their fragrance gently diffusing through the air.

Back in her familiar place, Renee finally relaxed, then called home.

Knowing their daughter was back in the country safe, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan finally stopped worrying so much. They knew she was career-driven but asked her to come home to rest sometime—family and the students at the dojo all missed her.

Pressing her fingers to her eye sockets, Renee suddenly thought of that dream.

Her journey in acting had been full of stumbles and dark rumors. Even when she had some recognition for genuine work, she’d soon be dragged into the mud. But her family and her dojo brothers had always, steadfastly, supported and protected her. Whenever she needed sanctuary, she could always turn back home.

Her mom seemed to sense something, and stayed on the phone chatting for a long while. By the time they hung up, it was already past eleven.

Renee was about to go shower, arms full of clothes, when she remembered she’d forgotten someone.

She quickly fished her phone from the sofa, found the number and was about to call, but then thought it was too late.

She wasn’t keen on calling him anyway—he always felt intimidating—so she just added him on WeChat instead, reasoning he probably wouldn’t notice so quickly. She could explain tomorrow after he accepted it.

But unexpectedly, he accepted instantly.